Current-motor.



i. M. STAFFGRD.

CURRENT MOTOR.

APPLlcATloN man Nov. e, 1915.

LQYQ@ Patete May 8, 1917.

Samva NSTEWFORD 1 :nomas grans :a No ur o JAMES M. STAFFORD, OF WASHINGTON', INDIANA.

CURRENT-TIIOTOR.

Application led November 9, 1915,

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, JAMES M. STAFFORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at lllashington, in the county of Daviess, State ot Indiana, have invented a new and useful .hirrent-li/lotor; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it a ppertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to certain new and uselul improvements in fluid current motors, and has for its object to provide a device of this character which embodies novel features o' construction wherebv the energy of a current of air or stream ot water can be utilized for the performance ot useful work.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a fluid current motor which is comparatively simple and'inexpensive in its construction, which is not liable to get out oi2 repair, which can be used in a stream ott water without the necessity of constructing; a dam, and which is submerged in the water so that it will not be injured by dritt wood or appreciably influenced by t-he rise and fall of the stream.

lilith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of the parts as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the novel features thereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding o the invention, reference is to bc had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which :v-

Figure l is a top plan view of a current motor constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view hrough the same.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the blade turning frames, showing the manner in which the depression in the annular track cooperates with the frame to rotate the blade.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the same reference characters.

For the purpose of illustration the invention is shown as embodied in a water motor, although with slight changes the same idea may be utilized in the construction of an Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May i917.

Serial No. 60,542.

air motor or wind whed. Referring to the drawings, the numeral l designates a watertight casing which is designed to be mounted in some suitable manner upon the bed of a stream. Jour-nalen within the casing l and projecting up vardly through a stuiling box at the top thereof is a vertical shaft 3, the lower end oil? the said shaft being provided within the casing l with a bevel gear e.

Projecting laterally from the upper end el" the vertical shaft 3 is a series of hori zoutal arms upon which the paddles or blad i t3 are mounted. ,llach of the horizontal arms 5 is provided at a point toward the inner end thereoli with a roller 7 adapted to travel upon a horizontally disposed circular track S, and at the outer end thereof with a similar roller 9 adapted to travel upon a circular and horizontally disposed track l0. These rollers 7 and 9 preferably have beveled peripheries, as shown, the tracks 8 and l0 being correspondingly beveled, in order reduce the friction and render it practically impossible for the roll' ers to become disengaged from the tracks. rThe blade G oi' each ot the horizontal arms 5 is arranged between the inner roller 7 and the outer roller 9 and pivotally mounted upon the horizontal arm so as to be rotatable about the same as an axis. ln the present instance each of the blades 6 is shown as provided with bearings G engaging the respective horizontal arm 5, and those blades which travel in a down-stream direction as the vertical shalt 3 rotates are swung into a vertical position so as to oiler a maximum resistance to the current, while those blades which are moving upstream are rotated into a horizontal position so as to pass edgewise througlL the water and oiier a minimum resistance to the current.

Rigid with the outer end of each of the blades 6 is a 'iframe ll having four rollers l2 journaled thereon, said rollers being disioscd at the corners of a square having one set of sides parallel to the blade 6 and the opposite set of sides disposed at right angles thereto. These rollers l2 engage an annular track 13 which is provided at both the upstream side and the downstream side thereof with depressions le. Two of the rollers l2 are normally in engagement with the track 13 and cooperate with each other to lock the respective blade 6 against rotation upon the horizontal arm 5. However,

in passing over either one of the depressions 14, the foremost roller 12 traveling upon the track 13 will drop into the depression and thereby produce a one-quarter revolution of the blade G as the rollers 12 clear the depression 111- and again travel upon the level track. Guard plates 14a are arranged over the depressions lei, said guard plates being correspondingly shaped, and being supported in a spaced and parallel relation to the depressions so as to positively direct the rollers 12 and cause them to travel through the depressions in the proper manner. Each of the blades is thus turned into a vertical position when it reaches the upstream side of the track 1?, and turned into a horizontal position as it reaches the downstream side of the track 13. The blades are thus vertically disposed when moving upstream, so that the action of the current against the paddles or blades will result in a continuous rotation of the verticalshaft 3.

A second casing 15, similar to the casing 1, is embedded in the bank at one side of the stream and connected to the casing 1 by a tubular housing 1G within which a horizontal shaft 17 is mounted, one end of the said shaft being provided with a bevel gear 1S which meshes with the bevel gear 4 of the vertical shaft 3, while the opposite end thereof is provided with a bevel gear 19 which meshes with a bevel gear 2O on an upright or vertical shaft Q1 which projects vthrough a stui'ling box 2:2 at the top of the casing 15, and may have the upper end thereof connected `in any suitable manner to a pump, dynamo or other piece of machinery to be driven by the water wheel. The two casings 1 and 15, as well. as the tubular housing 1G connecting the same are filled with oil and made water-tight so as to eX- clude the water from the stream. A drain pipe 23 leads to the bottom of both of the casings 1 and 15 and provides a means for pumping from the casings any water which may accumulate therein. An oil pipe 24 is also provided, said oil pipe leading to the top of each of the casings 1 and 15 and enabling the oil to be replenished as required. 1t will be understood that these water wheels may be used either singly or in groups, and in the latter case all of the water Wheels could be geared to a single transmission shaft so that the power derived from all of the wheels could be taken from a single drive shaft projecting upwardly from the casing embedded in the bank of the stream.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is i l. A fluid current motor, including a vertical shaft, a series of horizontal arms radiating therefrom, supporting rollers applied to the outer and innerends of the arms, outer and inner concentric tracks engaging the said rollers and coperating therewith to support the arms, a paddle mounted upon each of the arms between the two supporting rollers and adapted to rotate about the same as an axis, a frame rigid with each of the paddles and arranged at r-ight angles to the plane thereof, rollers ournaled upon the frame and arranged at the corners of a square, and an annular track for the said rollers of the frame, the track being provided at diametrically opposite points with depressions and two of the rollers of each paddle normally traveling upon the track to hold the paddle against rotation, although as the rollers reach the depressions the paddle is rotated a quarter turn.

2. A fluid current motor, including a vertical shaft, a series of horizontal arms radiating therefrom, supportingrollers applied to the outer and inner ends of the frames, siiipporting tracks engaging the said rollers, a paddle mounted upon each of the arms between the two rollers and adapted to rotate about the same as an axis, a frame rigid with each of the paddles and arranged at right angles to the plane thereof, guide rollers journaled upon the frame and arranged at the corners of a square, a guide track for the said rollers of the frame, the guide track being provided at diametrically opposite points with depressions, and guard plates arranged over the depressions and having a spaced and parallel relation thereto, two of each of the guide rollers normally traveling upon the guide track to hold the paddle against rotation, and the paddle being given a quarter turn by the movement of the rollers as they travel through the depressions.

1n testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES M. STAFFORD.

itnesses SAMUEL C. ESKRIDGE,

LUCINDA HARROD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, ID. G.

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